


Ribbons

by Cheerierlemon



Category: No Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Ghosts, Horror, Loneliness, Murder Mystery, Mystery, Nightmares, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Other, POV Child, Summer, Supernatural Elements, child protagonist, mother figure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 22:26:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7193342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheerierlemon/pseuds/Cheerierlemon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>summer is here and mystery is in air. Elliot a not so normal kid is sent to his aunt for the summer and the town as a old mystery to be solved. Friendships are made and lets hope one doesn't end up with a bad end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> this chapter has been redone.

Chapter 1  
A loud, meticulous knock resounds from outside the tiny bedroom. The equally tiny boy immediately knew who was on the other side. It’s not like there's anyone else who lives in the apartment besides them.

“Come in” the boy says loud enough for the other to hear

The door handle turned and the door opened to reveal the boy's mother Madeline Crane. She looks at her son with icy and uninterested eyes. Judging from her attire he knew what his mother was going to do. She wore a long, dark blue dress that shaped her body. Makeup painted her sharp angular face like a mask.

“Oh great she's going on another one…” he thought

“I'm going out tonight you know the drill. Money is on the counter.” As she began to turn she stopped, “Oh and pack of suitcase there is one in my closet for you to use. Make certain to pack at least a week's worth of clothes, understand?”  
“Yes Mother where am I going, if I may ask?”  
“You are going to go stay with my sister for the summer.”  
“Are you coming too?” he sheepishly asked even though he already knew the answer.

His mother crossed her long slender arms and glared coldly with dark Hickory eyes at her son. He averted his gaze from his mother's to the cream-colored carpeted floor. He knew the answer, no. It was always because of work, with her all-too-frequent “dinner parties” thrown into the mix. Nothing out of the ordinary.  
With their conversation effectively ended his mother proceeded to leave the apartment. That night the boy did what he was ordered to do. He took them medium sized suitcase from his mother's closet and filled it with the little bit of clothes that he had. With a suitcase packed he walked into the kitchen to retrieve the sum of money left by his mother just to storage and a small, metal cookie tin. The money was meant for him to buy food, either by walking to the nearby convenience store or from one of the many restaurants around, but he rarely did either of those. He rarely ate, but when he did it was more for necessity to ease his stomach. Food never appeal to him. He made sure to pack the cookie tin to take along.  
The day after, his mother rushed him out of their apartment his beds and toe as she took him to the train station. She put him on his appropriate train to reach his aunt. From his ticket the boy found out his destination Washington station Portland, Maine. As the boy boarded he looked to his mother for a sign of good bye, but she did not give him one. She spun on her heel and left.

Which brings us to now  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------

The train as quiet as its speeds down the track, except for the occasional shuffling of papers from a traveling business person. The boy is sitting next to the train window, his head leans on the glass. Earlier he gave up reading his book. The motion sickness made a stomach flip and his head ache pain, so he put his book into his knapsack and rested his head on the glass letting a white static fill his mind.

Then, the sudden crackling static of the intercom startles the boy out of his white static.

BING BONG

“Attention all passengers the train is now arriving to Washington station Portland, Maine. Please remain seated as the train pulls into the station. Also remember together all your items before disembarking the train. Thank you for choosing the Landon railways.”

BING BONG

“I guess this is my stop.” the boy says.

The boy makes sure that his bags are closed and as soon after the announcement the train makes a complete stop in the station. He slings his knapsack over his shoulders and grabs the handle of the suitcase before disembarking the train.  
There are tons of people on the train platform buzzing around like bees in a hive. For the boy it’s dizzying to watch the towering figures shuffle around the platform. He tightens his grip on his suitcase and nervously squeezes through the horde of people into the station building. The people are coming and going at a quick pace, but the boy knows it's not as hectic as it could be. He has seen and been in a New York rush hour a few times before and they are not fun, not in the least.  
The small boy walks around the station nervously unsure of what he should do next. His rising fear makes his stomach twist and knot uncomfortably. He absolutely hates being alone especially in an unfamiliar place, but he is always alone so he has grown used to it even if he didn't want to. He always feels so alienated in the world, like he doesn't belong. He feels so empty and alone.  
After a short spell he spots an empty corner towards the front entrance of the station. Seen that more and more people flood the station the boy begins to feel a bit too claustrophobic. He hurries over to the corner and park his suitcase in the corner then himself next to it.  
The child waits quietly watching the entrance with sideways glances, searching for the aunt doesn't know. Not even what she looks like, all he knows is her name is Claire.  
After a long while of waiting the boy tries to distract himself to ease his ever-increasing worry. He decides to count the panes of glass in the windows and the tiles in the ceiling, but he gets distracted by any sudden loud noise so he has to restart every time. Even with all the counting his stomach is still tying itself tighter and tighter with every passing minute. He quits counting and opts to curl himself into a ball. He pulls his legs close to his chest and rests his forehead on his knees. His throat tightens up and tears start to well up in his eyes.

“Aunt Claire please come and get me soon…”

“Elliott is that you dear?” a gentle voice says

She sounds like his mother, but her voice is much softer and warmer.A complete contrast to his mother. Elliott- being startled quickly looks up to see a tall and beautiful woman with long, curly black hair stand before him. She looks down at the boy curled into a ball at her feet with curiosity and worry written on her face. Her chocolate brown eyes though filled with concern give a calming feeling to the boy.

“Y-Yes?” he stutters, quickly wiping away budding tears in his eyes with the sleeve of his oversized hoodie.

The woman’s eyes light up so brightly they looked like they’d illuminate a room by themselves. Her smile is equally as bright or even more so. A millisecond later Elliott is scooped up in loving arms and spun around.

“Oh, if it isn’t my adorable little nephew!” she cheers happily

“So, this is Aunt Claire.”

“H-Hello Aunt Claire p-please put me down!” he pleads helplessly

With a resigned humph she sets down her tiny nephew. She takes a step back and looks at her nephew up and down still a happy smile on her heart shaped face. Then, carefully in her heeled shoes she crouches down to Elliott’s level.

“Me oh my! You have grown into such a fine young man since I’ve seen you last. Though the last time I had seen you, you just came out from your mom’s tummy.” she says nostalgically poking Elliott’s stomach causing him to shyly cover his stomach,” I am so happy to meet you again sweetie!”  
“Y-Yeah, it’s a pleasure to meet you too Aunt Claire.”

Never in a million years would have Elliott expected his aunt, his mother’s sister, to be such… Such a kind and bubbly person. He was whole heartedly expecting her to be like his mother. It spooked him a little. Her personality was something Elliott had ever interacted with much back in New York.

“Auntie.”  
“Huh?” he asks tilting his head like a confused puppy  
“I want you to call my auntie or Auntie Claire. Aunt is too stiff and boring auntie is much nicer and friendlier. Aunt gives me the chills; it reminds me of my mom.”  
“Y-Yes ma'am, I’ll try to remember.”  
“Good!”

Elliott nervously shifts in his spot and toys with the dangling straps of his knapsack. The knapsack is and old, brown thing that he has had for a long time. It has lots of pockets for storing treasures and worn silver buckles. Now, that he is with his aunt he doesn’t know what to do next, but he is glad that he is no longer alone. The tight knots in his stomach for earlier have yet to untie. Something is keeping him on edge and he can’t pinpoint the source of what is bugging him so much.

“Elliott, sweetie did you hear me? We need to get home before it gets too dark.”  
“Ah! Sorry, let’s go then.”  
Claire grabs the handle of the suitcase and pulls it behind her as Elliott follows close behind. They exit the station and walk through the packed parking lot. It’s a surprise to elliott that she even managed to get a spot with all these cars. Elliott almost runs into his aunt when she abruptly stops at a car. Elliott quickly pieces together that the car is hers. The car is an old faded yellow bug.  
Claire sets the suitcase in the backseat after she had slid the passenger seat up. Elliott follows her example and sets his knapsack in the back seat as well. Claire then repositions the seat back to its original position. Elliott then climbs into the passenger seat as Claire rounds the car to get in the driver’s seat. They buckle themselves in and Claire starts the car. They slowly creep through the parking lot to the exit. From there they get on the main street and begin their journey.  
During the drive they make small talk over mundane topics like Elliott’s school and what he likes to do. Elliott doesn’t have much in the way of answers so their conversation isn’t very lively.   
“So, what do you like to do? Any hobbies?”  
“Not many. I like to read and solve puzzles if that counts.”  
“It does! What kind of books do you like and puzzles too?”  
“Um I like mystery, fantasy, and detective books the best. Puzzles… I guess finding hidden objects and connecting the dots to unlock the mystery are what I like best.”  
“Oh! A little detective you are!” she giggles  
“Y-yeah and I like to explore too.”  
“Exploring? Yep a little detective and adventurer you are!”  
Elliott smiles a tiny smile. The first true smile he has given so easily in a long time. Claire sees the flash of the tiny smile and preens happily on getting him to smile. She hopes that this smile is the first of many.  
Their conversation dies down to them listening to the radio and the tires on the road. Elliott leans against the passenger door watching the sky grow darker from robins egg blue to purple with bursts of orange, pinks, and reds. The open sky and clean, cool air is a nice change of pace for the boy who has always lived in the city. He changes his gaze from the sky to an open grassy field that burns gold in the dying sun light. He is mesmerized by the sea of shining gold as the wind gently blows it. In the middle of the field a distant shadow stands still as stone. Elliott’s eyes fell onto the aperitionand time seemed slow to a halt, but as quick as a blink it was gone. He takes a second glance, his pounding out of his chest and finds no shadow.   
“Just a trick of light.” he thinks settling in his seat forcing himself to calm down his racing heart   
Elliott rests his head against the window and yawns. He rubs his eyes feeling them getting heavier and heavier. As the sky grows darker Elliott’s sleepiness grows as well. He surrenders and closes his eyes listening to the hum of the engine lulling him into a deep sleep.


	2. Nightmare

Nightmare  
“Oh great, not this dream again. Why is it always this dream?”  
An endless grayscale world surrounds the small boy. Tall gray buildings and black glass skyscrapers tower unrealistically over his tiny build. The endless city is based on the boy’s home, New York. The only exception is that there is no one in the city. Elliot is the only soul there.  
Elliot walks down an empty street of Lower Manhattan. What street it is unknown because the street signs have no names on them. The old brick buildings stand tall and silent looking as if they have many stories to tell, but their lips are sealed in the cold gray world. Passing an alleyway, separating two brick buildings, something bright white catches Elliot’s attention. Even in the pitch-black alley the object is blinding white, like a sharp white erase mark. Elliot cautiously walks into the alley drawing closer to the blinding white ribbon? The oddity is a pure white ribbon about two feet long. He picks up the ribbon off the concrete ground and hold it loosely in his hands. The ribbon feels like high quality silk and is cool to the touch. The oddity holds Elliott’s intrigue and curiosity. In all of his recurring dreams there's never been anything like this in them.  
Elliott gazes at the ribbon rubbing soft material between his fingers. Then like on cue in a horror film everything goes to crud. The ribbons bright white color corrupts to black and crumbles in his hands like ash. The grayscale world cracks and shattered like glass dropping Elliott into a black void. The feeling of falling overcomes Elliott and he screams till he lands on something soft and squishy. He bounces once on the invisible softness before stilling. He lays flat on his back his right hand clenched to his chest. His breath is heavy and his heart is racing.  
Elliott lays there for a long while calming himself down thinking on his experiences of this strange dream. Everything up from the ribbon was new territory to the child; his dreams usually consisted of him walking around his mindscape till morning, but this is not the same. He is scared of anything that may come next.  
A low rumbling of a laugh echoes throughout the void. Elliott sits up immediately searching for the source of the laugh.  
“Hello? Who’s there?” Elliott calls out in a shaky voice  
Another low laugh echoes about confusing Elliott of the source. It seemed to come from everywhere all at once.

“H-hello? Where are you?” he calls again this time his voice is trembling.  
The laughing starts as a low rumble to that of a lunatic's laugh. The terrifying laughter grows in volume and it sends shivers down Elliott’s spine. He is so scared that his entire being is trembling. He tries to cover his ears but the menacing laughter only grows louder and louder. The laughter seems to be in his head because covering his ears has no effect. The boy begins to cry and scream begging for the laughter to cease. The source ignores his pleas and continues on. Elliott eventually stops screaming as his senses grow numb to the deafening laughter which has now turned into a high-pitched ringing. The menacing laughter feels ingrained into the boy's mind. He lays there in the darkness crying and listening to the ringing.


End file.
